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Engineering flaws? Well, the usual upright red block issues:
- timing gears can wipe out but won't destroy your engine, so it's more of a nuisance, and they'll usually give plenty of warning before leaving you stranded. Just the fibre wheel is about $66 from IPD or possibly cheaper elsewhere, and changing it is about as much work as a timing belt on a slanted red block.
- keep the oil changed frequently. Cam lubrication has never been a strong point of these blocks. With proper (clean) oil it'll be fine, neglect it at your peril.
The BW35 automatic gearbox doesn't seem to hold up very well, then again it'll probably do 150-200K, so that seems about on par with a lot of domestic gearboxes. The M400/M410 OD can get some bearing wear and get noisy, but fixing that is relatively cheap&easy. Due to the large, heavy clutch clutch cables on manuals are shorter lived than their 140 or 240 counterparts.
Comfort is as good as or better than a 140, noise level is down due to this big engine being better balanced and not needing to work quite as hard. I'm not a big fan of the gearing, you really want the OD, maybe even put in the lower geared automatic rear end to reduce highway RPM (at the expense of low end acceleration).
The main problem is that these engines are _heavy_ (450 lbs or so for a longblock, plus another 100 lbs worth of gearbox and another 50-100 lbs of ancilaries), so handling tends to be noticably understeered (until it snaps and goes oversteer). For throwing around on twisty country roads I feel much more secure in my 145 than in my 164. I don't think you'll have much problems if you drive it like a gentleman, but if you to do late night proficiency runs, get something else.
Oh, and mileage approaches that of an SUV.
All in all, not a bad highway cruiser, looks great, not so great to drive fast. And yes, walrus3 and I have different opinions on its handling. Then again, his has IPD bars if I remember correctly, and does handle better than mine.
Bram
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